Radio channels

Radio on YouTube can unlock many benefits beyond traditional distribution: audiences can tune in to your videos anytime, from anywhere. Explore the strategies successful creators use to connect to and engage with their viewers for a robust, interactive, and rewarding experience.

Radio gets an interactive makeover on YouTube. Learn how to make a robust, engaging radio experience.

1. Enable audiences to tune in anytime

Videos on YouTube can be discovered and enjoyed well past the initial air-date. Properly optimizing your videos can help ensure that audiences discover new episodes, and find ones they may have missed when they first aired.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Remind listeners that YouTube houses past episodes: Letting on-air listeners know that they can find previously aired episodes on your YouTube channel could help build awareness and repeat visits. “Didn’t catch the radio show? No worries -- it’s all on YouTube.”

Indicate initial air-date: It can be helpful to include the original date in the thumbnail and metadata so audiences can easily find episodes they might have missed.

Organize all episodes into playlists:Playlists are often used to order episodes chronologically so audiences can easily locate the video they’re looking for.

See it in action

TimWestwoodTV has videos that are still generating thousands of daily views five years after their initial upload, as indicated in this chart. (A) indicates views at the initial upload, (B) shows when the subject reached its pinnacle of interest, and (C) represents catch-up viewing.

2. Capitalize on high-impact keywords

Popular songs, artists, and other in-studio guests typically have more global recognition than the radio stations they appear on. Many stations are seeing success leveraging these sought-after search terms to drive awareness of (and viewership to) their YouTube channels.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Ordering matters: When developing titles and descriptions for your videos, consider which elements are most likely to be searched for by potential audiences; consider putting this information at the beginning to more effectively capture their attention.

Optimize all metadata: YouTube’s search and discovery systems look at titles, descriptions, and tags to properly match audiences to your content. Optimizing each of these metadata fields can improve the chances of surfacing your content.

Tap into trending YouTube searches: Monitoring YouTube Search trends can help you identify and prioritize which guests you invite, topics you discuss, and performances you cover.

Be sure the metadata is accurate: Feel free to include keywords that represent your actual video content, but don’t include keywords that are misleading (e.g. Don’t put “Miley Cyrus” to capitalize on search if your video isn’t actually about Miley).

See it in action

WNYC has similar content with varying titling conventions. Generally, those video titles that feature episode-specific information first outperform other titling formats. See the more successful top title, where the name of the artist’s band, The Mountain Goats, is listed first.

The right title drives views

On average, when compared with video titles that feature the station name first (A), titles with guest or song names presented first (B) drive 7x more views (C).

3. Help viewers navigate long sessions

Audiences sometimes find it difficult to navigate through multi-song performances, interviews, and other long-form recordings. Helping viewers easily find the content they want can greatly increase viewership and engagement.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Cut long segments into bite-sized clips: Some creators have found it helpful to create clips that pull out the best short-form content to act as stand-alone videos. They also make sure the metadata is effective to maximize chances of discovery.

Link to specific moments of a long segment: You could include time codes in the video description to automatically link viewers to the corresponding moment in that video.

In this chart, which indicates the percentage of total video views, the four clips pulled out of the original full-length segment drove 17x more views (red) than the original version (blue) because viewers could find and enjoy specific songs more easily.

4. Tune in to YouTube natives

Radio stations looking to expand into video can tap into existing YouTube audiences to kickstart viewership and subscriber growth. Many traditional players are incorporating YouTube personalities to attract strategically important audiences to their channels.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Incorporate YouTube stars into existing shows: Some channels have had success featuring a variety of YouTube stars as revolving guests on their shows.

Give them their own shows: Empowering YouTube personalities to host their own shows on your channel can help bridge the audience gap between your channel and theirs.

Have them promote your channel: Many popular YouTube personalities have large and dedicated communities. Consider tapping into that community by encouraging YouTubers to promote your channel and/or shared show.

SiriusXM Hits 1 launched a new radio show featuring trending songs on YouTube, hosted by YouTuber Jenna Marbles.

5. Call your audience to action

Radio hosts can be powerful trendsetters with loyal followers. Many successful radio channels leverage this unique relationship by including strategic calls to action within their content that help drive additional viewership, subscriptions, and more.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Direct address: Some popular YouTube channels talk directly to their audiences and ask them to take actions such as watching additional videos, subscribing, commenting, and sharing the current video with their friends.

Annotated end cards: If audiences watch your videos from beginning to end, there’s a decent chance that they would welcome suggestions on what to watch next. Many popular YouTube channels use annotated end cards to encourage viewers to watch another video.

6. Interact with audiences beyond the dial-in

Listeners are already accustomed to dialing in to speak with their favorite hosts, but several radio channels are taking this communication to the next level. Using various YouTube tools, hosts are putting a face to their popular radio voice and cultivating multi-directional interactions with their biggest fans.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Get them talking: Asking for viewer opinions and feedback can help encourage repeat visits and subscriptions. Many creators have found that good debates help foster a healthy community.

Infuse each episode with discussion: Some creators dedicate a section at the end of every video to answer questions from the previous episode. End cards can be one way to do this.

Feature your audience: Many creators take interaction to the next level by incorporating viewers right into the video. They’ll answer questions, allow viewer suggestions to influence future episodes, or invite them to guest star in an episode.

Live sessions: Increasingly, YouTube creators are inviting their viewers to join Google+ Hangouts to facilitate live Q&As and discussions.

Ryan Seacrest frequently interacts with subscribers about specific episodes using the comments field at the bottom of each video. This has helped the channel build a loyal following.

7. Get subscribers invested in your success

When channels are built with the community in mind, viewers often become dedicated subscribers and powerful channel advocates. Consider using creative community-building tactics to help ensure that your viewers not only watch individual videos, but help you reach key milestones.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Update your audience on major milestones: Viewers love being part of success, especially if they played a part in it. Consider giving your audience a shout-out when you hit subscriber, viewership, or other important targets.

Share in your success: Many creators reward their audiences with exclusive clips and other actions that show their appreciation for ongoing audience support.

Issue challenges: Viewers love a good challenge, especially when it’s for a cause they support. Consider rallying your subscribers to help reach key milestones they can be proud of.

This chart shows how in less than a year, BBC Radio1 grew its subscriber base by nearly 500%, in part because of the beard challenge. (A) indicates when the beard challenge was announced and (B) shows the point at which one million subscribers were gained, allowing Joe to finally cut his beard.

8. Reach a global audience

Regional radio stations have audiences who are intimately familiar with their hosts, shows, and schedules. Because YouTube is a global platform with viewers who may not be familiar with local stations, certain techniques could help you connect with audiences outside of your immediate region.

Thought starters

Tools and techniques compiled from our experiences with YouTube creators:

Include video captions: Adding subtitles and closed captions can help your content reach foreign language viewers and those who are hard of hearing. Subtitles and closed captions can also increase the discoverability of your content by acting as additional metadata.

Create regional channels: Developing regional channels could be a great way to reach viewers who speak other languages. If you pursue this strategy, be sure you can devote adequate resources to launch and maintain multiple channels.

See it in action

Ryan Seacrest uploads video caption files, which are used by international audiences to translate segments into a language they can understand.

Subtitles and closed captions can improve views

A popular YouTube channel increased daily views by 83% and watch time by 88% after uploading captions to their existing video library. This graph shows average daily views before (A) and after adding captions (B).